The past 5 days have been interesting and actually frightening times. COVID-19 has put us into self quarantine. It has been an opportunity to take stock of what’s in the cupboard and the fridge and put some thought into how to make what’s in the house stretch for as long as we may be asked to stay in our homes and away from the grocery store.
The first thing to consider is the fresh food I have in the house. What will keep and what needs to be used. I have a beautiful organic cauliflower in my veg drawer and with some pantry supplies, I’m putting together an Alfredo Rotini with Cauliflower and Sausage.
- 250 g pasta. I used rotini
- 1/2 Large head of cauliflower
- 2 plant based sausages
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3/4 cups cashews, soaked
- 1 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 cups broth, divided
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Grapeseed or olive oil
Boil salted water for the pasta and cook until el dente. In the meantime, prepare the rest of the recipe.
Heat a large pan over medium heat. Sauté the onions and garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil, until onions are softened. Place the soaked cashews, sautéed onion, garlic, nutritional yeast, and vegetable broth in a high speed blender. Blend until smooth.
Add another 2 tbsp of olive or grapeseed oil to the pan and sauté the cauliflower until slightly crispy but not soft. Add the cashew mixture to the pan and bring up the heat until the sauce starts to simmer. Simmer on medium until the sauce begins to thicken.
Cut the sausage into 1 cm cubes. In a separate pan, fry the sausage until crispy. I used The Very Good Butchers Smokin’ Bangers. The Taco Stuffer could also work well here.
Add the cooked pasta to the cauliflower and cream and turn down the heat. The starch in the pasta will thicken the sauce quickly. Toss toss to coat all the pasta. Remove from the heat and stir in the crispy sausage.
Serve up a nice portion into a pasta bowl and enjoy the creamy, alfredo-ey comfort. Mmmmmmmm….
